Wimmin (2)

This is most definitely a rant.

I'm so old I've lived through the 1960s. I remember being complimented by a university tutor that I had - according to him - 'a very masculine way of thinking.' I think it was meant to be a compliment, but he must have seen from the look on my face that I was not happy because the discussion moved swiftly on. I also remember a friend of mine turning up for a university interview where she had to present her idea for a PhD. There was silence after her presentation and then a member of the interview panel (a man) said: 'I see you're wearing an engagement ring.' She let the silence drag on since it wasn't a question. 'Are you planning on getting married?' asked the same man. 'I'm planning on doing a PhD,' she said.

I keep hoping all that sort of thing is over. That attitudes have changed, the world has moved on, we're on the gentle uplands of sexual equality.

Fat chance.

Here are two items from the BBC news website on Saturday 18 June 2016:

- An official body in South Africa has ruled that university bursaries offered to proven female virgins were unlawful and should be scrapped.

Dear gawd, what the hell does a 'proven female virgin' look like? It seems these bursaries are intended to curb Aids and HIV. I would think if you want to curb Aids and HIV, you might want to talk to both men and women, but no. Aids and HIV are obviously women's problems in South Africa. 

And there's this:

Poland abortion: March to defend rights in Warsaw

Poland's laws on abortion are already among the most restrictive in Europe. Pro-life groups are seeking a law which would allow terminations only to save a pregnant woman's life. Currently the procedure is allowed in cases of rape or incest, if the woman's life is in danger, or if the foetus has medical problems.


Will the day ever come that other people will stop peering into women's - I don't want to use the word vaginas because I upset a former student last time I did that - so will the day ever come when other people will stop peering at women's private bits and telling them what to do? 

It's almost as if women are in some way defective - a bit daft, incapable of taking responsibility for themselves - almost as if our bodies were somehow public property. Unlike men, who appear to have carte blanche to do whatever the hell they want. Not that I want to stop them. I just want us all to be treated in the same way.